"She's not family!" Martha said.
* * *
Claudia shoves Martha back to the couch. "Shut up!" She said. "Alison was a police officer," Claudia said.
* * *
Alison actually never was a police officer. She spent an unsettling amount of time with police when she was a kid. She's taken forensic classes, studied police procedures and consumes crime related TV shows fiction and true crime shows. Claudia had come to the conclusion with her level of knowledge she had been official. Alison didn't correct the assumption.
* * *
"Why are you no longer a cop?" Martha asked.
* * *
"Your brother is dead, and you want me to take the time to review my qualifications with you?" Alison said. Sedation suites Martha when she's awake she's a nuisance.
* * *
"I shot him," Eugene said.
* * *
Alison frowns. "Why?" She asked.
* * *
"None of your business," Martha said.
* * *
Alison back handed Martha across her face. "You're going to lose the fucking attitude." Alison said.
* * *
"You hit me! You fucking bitch! You hit me!" Martha said.
* * *
Alison slaps Martha again. "Stop screaming!" She said. "Do you want the police to be called? Even the most useless police officer can smell gun powder. Have fun explaining the dead guy." She said.
* * *
"It was an accident," Martha said.
* * *
"Really? A gun with a silencer...an accident? Someone start talking or I'm leaving." Alison stated.
* * *
"Mom wanted to borrow some money, and Uncle Larry decided she could pay him back with pussy instead of cash,” Eugene said.
* * *
"He was kidding," Martha said.
* * *
"I never kid with my sister like that. Do I Claudia?" Eugene stated.
* * *
"You don't understand our relationship," Martha said.
* * *
"Oh, I understand more than you think Mom. He's Claudia's father." Eugene said.
* * *
Claudia and Martha are both surprised.
* * *
"How long?" Claudia said.
* * *
"A few years. Alison, what do you want us to do?" Eugene asked.
* * *
"Any one with money?" Alison said.
* * *
"Not me," Martha said.
* * *
"What a surprise you cause this situation and not having any solutions," Alison stated.
“Fuck you, Alison!” Martha said.
* * *
"Mom shut-up! I have some money." Claudia said.
* * *
"Any money on Larry?" Alison said.
* * *
"Yes. He brought over $1000." Eugene said.
* * *
"I'll go get the money off him. Claudia make a list. Eugene, you need to shower and change your clothes. Claudia buy a few boxes of the largest trash bags you can find. Six king sized white cheap sheets." Alison said.
She handed Martha the bottle of whiskey.
"Drink this. Eugene get Martha's cell phone we don't want her doing anything stupid that could cause you to go to prison. Oh! Claudia add a bottle of ammonia and bleach and lots of large sponges. Can you handle this?" Alison asked Claudia.
* * *
"Yes." Claudia nods.
* * *
Alison goes back into the bedroom. She tugs Larry's ankle's she could hear him peeling off the wall. Rigor mortis hasn't set in his legs. Time is not on their side. She rolls Larry over locating his wallet. Alison counts out $1000, but she guesses there is more like two or three thousand shoved in the wallet. She keeps the rest of the money. Alison gives Claudia $1000.
* * *
"Claudia go to one of the 24-hour stores. Grab extra things like gum and candy as well. Are you good to drive?" She said.
* * *
"No," Claudia said.
* * *
Alison pulls off the plastic gloves and touches the side of Claudia's face. "Your father died. Eugene sit with Martha and don't do anything until we return." She said.
* * *
"Ok," Eugene said.
* * *
Alison felt some compassion towards Claudia. Her father/uncle been murdered by her brother. A brother doesn’t give a shit he's killed, Larry. She and Claudia need a guy for their Triple S plan, and Alison believes she's found a male partner. The situation is perfect.
"Damn it! Minerva is correct Mathilda's blood line didn't stop in 1988 when Cramer Low finally managed to commit suicide. It doesn't mean Alison is that baby. Let's take another look at Gloria and dissect her pregnancy timeline." Katrina said.
* * *
"Not to be a complete asshole about this but why this level of detail?" Nina said.
* * *
"Mathilda's bloodline was no threat. Insanity, jail birds and all-around losers on the branch of the family tree. If a disaster happened, it happened to them. None of them ever came close to being successful in any way. Of course,...no one on that bloodline lived as long as Alison either. Katrina said.
* * *
"If Alison is Cramer's daughter...what does this mean?" Nina said.
* * *
"No idea. She hasn't displayed any abilities. Wouldn't that be a bitch? Alison inherited the evil tendencies, and Camryn got the actual abilities. If Alison thought she hated Camryn before..." Katrina chuckles.
* * *
"She did kill Andrew," Nina said.
* * *
"That was self-defense," Katrina stated.
* * *
"She enjoyed it," Nina said.
* * *
"You never meet him. I did." Katrina said. "Before we start chasing after Cramer's offspring let's double check Gloria Morgan. We confirmed she was actually pregnant so let's see if we can find any death certificates for babies or adoption records." Katrina said.
Alison searches through the stack of sheets. She needs the flatted sheets, not a set. There is an oddness hanging in the air.
Alison hears a growl.
What is she looking at some giant creature that is a cross between a bear and a lion?
* * *
"Don't run or he'll chase. He catches you...it will be ugly." Minerva stated. She pats the things head, and it made a sound like it is purring.
* * *
"You're a daughter of Satan," Alison said.
* * *
"I was thinking that about you," Minerva said.
* * *
"This. This is black magic I don't do any magic." Alison corrected her. "Get thee behind thee Satan!" She said.
* * *
Minerva howls with laughter. "I needed a laugh. Please spare me the performance you do for your little church group. Your activities beyond bonding with your sister...not my concern." Minerva said.
* * *
"What is that?" Alison said. She made a slight gesture towards the creature.
It leaps at her, sniffs her and walks away.
* * *
"My pet. I’ve had enough of your lame weekly reports. Emailed sister, text sister, chatted with sister... I'm not seeing a return on my investment. I've made an outline for you and giving you some deadlines." Minerva said.
* * *
Alison scans over the outline, and she glances at the thing Minerva pets.
* * *
"I'm building a relationship with my sister. This isn't done on a deadline." Alison stated.
* * *
"Now it is,” Minerva said.
No one in the store is moving. Minerva giggles as she pulls down a man's pants.
* * *
Alison hears the click of Minerva's heels and the light tapping of that things claws on the tiled floor as they walk away.
Everyone begins moving again. The man is startled as he pulls his pants up.
&n
bsp; * * *
Alison wasn't sure what to make of what happened. She grabs a few packages of sheets off the shelf. She finally located Claudia on the cleaning aisle. Alison rolls her eyes. She found Claudia studying the bleach and tears streaming down her face. Alison is annoyed. It wasn't like someone mattered died.
* * *
"Claudia pull it together. “Alison said in a low voice.
* * *
"I'm sorry." Claudia tries to stop crying. Her father/uncle is dead, and her brother killed him! It was too much co-mingling of the family tree for her. She manages to calm herself. Alison, of course, is right. A woman crying hysterically in the store will draw attention --- which is the last thing they need.
* * *
Claudia picks up a large bottle of bleach and a bottle of ammonia, some large sponges, two buckets, gloves and cheap mops. Alison places the bleach back on the shelf.
* * *
"We need that!" Claudia said.
* * *
Alison scans the store shelf. "It’s chlorine bleach we need bleach with some oxygenation to it. Chlorine bleach doesn't remove blood. Go to the aisle with mouth wash grab three large bottles of hydrogen peroxide. "She said.
* * *
Claudia got the bottles. She grabbed bags of gum, candy, chips and large case of beer. Alison found a bag of cotton sports socks. She scans the basket. She is satisfied with the items. She has to push her interaction with Minerva out of her mind for now.
* * *
When they returned, Alison is relieved to find Martha passed out. Snoring. Eugene sits staring at the wall.
* * *
"Come on Eugene. You're going to start cleaning the mess you made. We can't expect Claudia to pick skull fragments of her father out of the wall....now can we?" She asked him.
Tara Farr, Andrew's mother, places a plate of eggs and sausages on the kitchen table. Macon, Jerome, and Dennis grab the food. She sits down and continues knitting.
Macon speaks with a clump of eggs in his mouth. "Boys, Andrew has been missing for months," Macon said.
* * *
Jerome secretly wasn't upset about Andrew missing. Andrew had sex with two of his girlfriends to prove he could. Andrew was a bully. He sat chewing on his food and listens to his father speak.
* * *
"The police haven't found shit. Even with me being a golf buddy of the police commissioner shit is being done to find Andrew. We've always presumed Jensen was a friend of his." Macon stopped to swallow his food.
* * *
Tara is knitting. "We've started questioning his dedication to this case," Tara said.
* * *
"He can't work exclusively on this case," Dennis said.
* * *
"We know!" Macon said.
* * *
"Nobody is working on it. Jerome you're going to drive Andrew's car to Denver. Dennis you're going to follow him. We can use a map and online stuff to figure out how many hours that would take. But it doesn't give us details about the area." Tara said.
* * *
"Make a note of all the cities you go by or through, rest stops, places to eat and gas up,” Macon said.
* * *
"We want a detailed report, so we start a plan to find Andrew," Tara said.
* * *
Jerome and Dennis leave to start the journey. Tara knits and smiles.
Eugene washes his face. He'd been throwing up on and off for an hour. Eugene enters the room. Alison is done removing the rest of Larry's teeth.
* * *
"Stop!" Alison said. "Put the hair cap and new pair of gloves and face mask on before coming back into this room. Forensic Science improves every week." She reminds him.
* * *
Eugene did what he was told. His socked feet slide slightly on the plastic on the floor. He finishes cutting Larry's cloths off.
* * *
"You're holding it together well Eugene." Alison encourages him.
* * *
"Thank you. Why are you helping me?" He asked.
* * *
"Larry should have died years ago." She said.
* * *
Eugene agreed. He hated Larry. He hated his weak mother. He wished he had a better word than sicken to describe his mother involvement with Larry. She was a willing participant in the shenanigans making her as twisted as Larry. He wishes she were dead.
* * *
Alison knew she needed some help with her Triple S plan. Eugene is angry and susceptible to her which makes him easier to control. He’s perfect.
* * *
"Eugene, in a few hours the hardware places will be opening. Two bags of lime from two different stores and eight pounds ...no make it 10 pounds of certified lye for soap making. Do you all have a shovel?" She asked.
* * *
"I don't think so," Eugene said.
* * *
"I'll get that. Claudia will take your mother somewhere. She can't wander around this place until we finish." Alison said.
* * *
"My roommate supposed to return from his deployment by the end of the week. I don't want him to know I used his truck." Eugene is starting panic.
* * *
Alison holds his hand. "Don't fall apart now, Eugene. You're doing well. We'll wash his truck and detail it. Tell him it's a welcome home present. It will surprise him, and he'll appreciate it." Alison said.
* * *
Eugene smiles. "He'll like that. I need to make sure to fill up the tank." He said.
* * *
"After the detailing. I made the mistake of taking my car to one those places on a full tank, and one fourth of gas was driven out of the car when I got it back. I was pissed." Alison shakes her head.
* * *
Claudia heard Eugene laughing. She felt a little angry but figures Alison is cracking jokes attempting to lighten the mood ....this shit. Claudia knocks on the bedroom door.
* * *
"The sun's coming up." She said.
* * *
"Okay go online and book a room with a kitchen. Get dressed and call something like Lyft to come take you both to the hotel. Leave a bottle of Jameson, and she'll do the rest. If you give her a phone take out all the phone numbers but yours. I rather you didn't give her a phone. She'll pick this moment to remember the 911 number while she's drunk." Alison said.
* * *
"Ali, thank you" Claudia blinks tears away.
* * *
"I think of you like a sister," Alison said.
* * *
"You have a sister," Claudia said.
* * *
"Camryn is my sister from circumstance. You're my sister by design and that will always make you more important to me." She said.
* * *
Claudia didn't know she meant that much to Alison.
* * *
Alison watches Eugene wrapping up Larry in the sheets and plastic.
* * *
"I'll take them into the city. That way I can get the lime and lye and then we can load up Larry and head off to Pelham Bay Park. Are you sure you want to go there?" Eugene asked.
* * *
"It's three times the size of Central Park. It will be easier to do what needs to be done there." Alison said.
* * *
Alison and Eugene had many hours of work ahead. Body disposal, removing the old paint and repainting the wall. If the police caught on to what happened, she is making sure it would be fucking hard to find any evidence. It's a rainy day in New York City, and she hopes it is also raining in the park as well.
She was small. It broke Mitchell's heart to see Miriam with tubes around her. He and Taylor had agreed they couldn't take in the baby. The judge ruled within hours of Miriam's birth that Kara had to give up her parental rights. The judge is concerned about the families viewing the baby as a way to make money since the Westbrooks are wealthy. Miriam is a ward of the state at this time.
IF: Nowhere To Run (Camryn Morgan Series Book 1) Page 17